Samsara is a Sanskrit word meaning the eternal cycle of life. The world we live in now. One of passion, oneness and harmony. This idea is key to the philosophy of Chad and Mary Melville’s Samsara wines. Chad and Mary produce limited releases of Pinot Noir and Syrah from micro-sites within carefully selected vineyards.
When Jim Dierbert has a passion for something, he acts quickly and decisively. Just ask his wife, Mary, to whom he proposed on their first date! It was love at first sight, yet again, when they laid eyes on the Star Lane Ranch, now planted to some 230 acres of vines. "We had looked around Napa and Bordeaux for a property early on," Jim recalls. But Napa and the Old World were getting a little crowded. "We wanted open space and big sky." They found it!
Daniel Gehrs Wines is a small, family owned and operated winery featuring small lots of hand-crafted wines. With over 30 years of experience, Daniel's wines are made in a classic old-world style that is exceptionally approachable to both novice and oenophile alike.
Daniel Gehrs Wines is the personal expression of winemaker Daniel Gehrs, whose vision of wine is simply this: “The holy grail of my winemaking is the taste of the grape on the day of harvest.” Dan hastens to add: “The first duty of a wine is to be interesting. Life is too short for boring wines”.
This is a cute little tasting room in downtown Santa Barbara if you don't want to make the trek up to Los Olivos, or just want to stop by for another tasting. Tastings are $10. Friendly, attentive staff. Great wines and a shop filled with olive oils, they had olive oil tasting there, cheese boards, wine-infused chocolates and tons of things that would be great to accompany a wine party.
The tasting room is reminiscent of some of the small wineries in the Provencal French countryside, featuring a kitchen complete with a wood-burning oven and two stone barrel-aging caves built into the hillside. The gorgeous courtyards and picnic grounds provide the perfect place to experience the wines. The Villa at Sunstone now serves as an extension of the Sunstone Winery lifestyle by providing a culinary center to entertain guests for weddings, winemaker dinners and private culinary retreats.
At Tudor Wines the select fruit from their family-owned vineyards and transform it into wine using traditional techniques. These include small fermentations mixed by hand and aging in French barrels. The resulting wine has a purity of expression that cannot be duplicated on a larger scale.
Rideau Vineyard was founded in 1997 by New Orleans native, Iris Rideau. Early on in the winery’s inception, Iris Rideau decided to dedicate her estate vineyard entirely to Rhône varietals. She felt that Rhône wines were not only ideally suited to the Santa Ynez Valley AVA, but also instinctively felt that they were best suited to the Creole cuisine of her childhood.
When Kory Koehler acquired the property in 1997, all of the estate grapes were being sold to local wineries. Koehler soon recognized that some of the best wines in the valley were being produced with grapes harvested from her own vineyard so she made the resolved to launch her own winery and tasting room. From the start, Kory Koehler's vision was to create a world-class winery committed to making premium wines at affordable prices.
The Gainey Vineyard is part of a large, sustainable farming operation owned and run by the Gainey family for the past 50 years. The Home Ranch, the largest of the three Gainey ranches in the Santa Ynez Valley, is 1800 acres. It is comprised of 100 acres of vineyards, an Arabian horse operation, 1000 acres of rangeland upon which beef cattle feed on native grasses, and 600 acres farmed primarily to organically grown fruits and vegetables.
The other two Gainey ranches are located in the Santa Rita Hills appellation. Evan's Ranch and Rancho Esperanza are farmed exclusively to wine grapes. These very cool sites are perfect locations for growing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and small amounts of Syrah, while the Home Ranch on the warmer, eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley is ideal for growing Bordeaux varieties of Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
After 20 years of producing Plam Vineyards wines in Napa Valley and 4 years of producing Mission Meadow Winery wines in Solvang, Santa Barbara County, Ken & Shirley Plam decided to retire. Well ... that lasted only about 3 years ... they couldn't stay away !!
